Complexity, a lot of flavors underneath, but for me unpleasantly overwhelming winey taste of alcohol on top of everything. If you cannot balance a high abv brew with other flavors, you should not release the beer. If that does not bother you, you will probably love it. (269 characters)

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours black with a little light getting through; mocha head that fades quickly and leaves decent lacing and retention. The aromas are very nice. Tons of milk chocolate with hints of vanilla. Some caramel and butterscotch in the mix as well. Chocolate dominates the aromas and flavors. Tastes very rich. Milk chocolate and dark chocolate shine. Some dark fruits in the mix. More vanilla and butterscotch. The flavors follow the nose perfectly. Although this is a big brew and there's hints of a warming sensation, the alcohol basically goes unnoticed and it's not hot or boozy. Mouthfeel is very nice. It's full-bodied with moderate carbonation. Silky and smooth. Dangerously drinkable.

This is a winner from Evil Twin. They know their dark beers, and this is no exception. Although this is an "Imperial Porter", there's no doubt that you'll feel like you're drinking an Imperial Stout. Well done. Recommended. (945 characters)

-- Like drinking a chocolate fountain. How is this not stout? Deep, amazing body, with the heat buried - hard to fault at all. Low on roast, coffee or licorice; instead juggles sweetness, dark fruits, chocolate, savoury and port notes. No hint of hops.

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 5/21/2014. Pours dense pitch black color with a small dense dark brown head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, fudge, toast, molasses, raisin, prune, licorice, dark bread, light smoke/char, and roasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt and moderate dark fruit notes; with good strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, fudge, toast, molasses, raisin, prune, licorice, dark bread, light smoke/char, and roasted earthiness. Moderate amount of roasted bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, toast, molasses, raisin, prune, licorice, dark bread, light smoke/char, and roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and moderate dark fruit flavors; with a great roasted bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy, moderately slick, and lightly chalky mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is well hidden with only a light warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent imperial porter. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and moderate dark fruit flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A very enjoyable offering. (1,566 characters)

Bottled 12/17/13: Pours pitch black color with a 2 finger creamy tan head that was full of bubbles and faded slowly leaving very good foamy lacing coating the sides.

Smells of chocolate, burnt wood, char, burnt coffee grinds, vanilla, molasses, licorice, dark fudge, some dark sweet fruit like cherry or prunes, mild booze and herbs or mild spices. Sweet and burnt are the main combo that hits your nasal passage, and like all dark Evil Twin beers this one is deep, rich and roasty with a strong coffee, mocha and brown sugar presence that lets the booze peek through but not offend.

Flavor walks the fine line of being cloyingly sweet, but pulls back with the charred taste that’s almost smoky and goes well with the mocha/espresso, burnt coffee grinds, vanilla, chocolate, burnt wood, brown sugar, char, raisin, toffee, molasses, licorice, cocoa powder and what seems like pine cone/piney hops as the bitterness comes into play with some light spices like pepper and then trails off with dark bakers chocolate, port wine, soy sauce and caramel. The sweetness suppresses the 11.5% ABV, masking it as it attempts balance that just can’t overcome the sweet malt dominance that has dark fruity notes and minor hop hints adding to the rich complexities.

A meal in a bottle, this was thick and chewy with mild carbonation, a heavy body and a slightly bitter aftertaste that trailed off quite sweet considering the very earthy burnt and charred malt presence throughout the consumption.

Like other “Imperial” Evil Twin beers, this was a slow sipper that was nice to take down in a controlled manner, allowing it to warm and bring out more flavor and aromas that helped hide the booze yet let the alcohol provide enough zing and buzz to add to the overall experience. Another quality Evil Twin beer that I really enjoyed and would recommend. (1,851 characters)

Smell of black chocolate and roasted malt. Hint of alcoholIn mouth it's very tasteful. Cocoa, anise and expresso. Aromas of dark berries give a light sour side. High abv is well-hidden. Medium/high roundness. Low carbonation. Bitterness is quite long and dominated by anise.Very good overall. Great complexity and well balanced. (331 characters)

I'm fairly new to reviewing brews. I have, however, been drinking craft brews and seeking the best beer I can find for many years. I picked up a 4 pack of Lil B yesterday and I couldn't wait to get home and try it. The reviews I've read about Evil Twin Brewing are phenomenal and they are really on the cutting edge with the stuff they're putting out. Let me tell you, this beer does not disappoint. I've never given a beer a "5" rating because I always want to leave room for improvement. This is the closest thing to a perfect beer I have come across in my travels. Outstanding by any means. I didn't want the one I drank to end. Do yourself a favor and give this one a try. It will not disappoint. (700 characters)

Appearance: I noticed some leakage from the cap when I unpacked this beer yesterday and when it poured out flat I was not surprised; I am just going to rate it a "4" in this category and presume it would have poured with the typical mocha head on the pitch black liquid

Smell: Dark chocolate, mocha, licorice and prune

Taste: Dark chocolate and prune, up front, with the licorice and mocha elements building in the middle; fudge and black bread tones, after the swallow, with some coffee in the finish

Mouthfeel: Again, I am going to give this a "4.25" as I presume that the full body would have been matched by some carbonation rather than the flatness I encountered

This is outstanding. I am starting to appreciate mouth feel and smell now. I used to be a taste only matters guy. I get it now. This feel and tastes great. At 11.5% ABV you don't know it. If you are debating that $15 tag for a 4 pack you have to trust me. Get this. This is in my top 10 and possibly top 5. I am also pretty sure that this is the top rated beer among Evil Twins readily available brews. (411 characters)

11/28/12 On tap at Rattle n Hum, NYC. Part of a flight of some serious stuff. Porter? Stout? Somebody help me out! Thinkin' raisins, prunes, figs & chocolate without hardly any sugars. Not bitter, mind, but redolent none the less. Not exactly refreshing but not unpleasant either. In a word 'serious'. Welcome to the club. (322 characters)

Poured black as night with a little foamy head. Smells malty, chocolate and fruity. Almost like a cross between a stout and porter. Kind of like when two attractive people pop out a few good looking kids. All the best from both gene pools. Dark and smooth going down. Coffee up front on the taste. The alcohol takes second to hit you in the taste. Super great beer. Can't believe it is 11.5%. (392 characters)

A: Pours black, nice fairly thick tan head settles into a solid ring on the outside, leaves some very light spotty lacing. Beautiful given the ABV.

S: Roast, toast, coffee, chocolate, and raisins. Whoa, raisins... Where the hell did that come from. ABV is decently well hidden, a few wafts here and there.

T: All the players from the aroma. Starts a little roasty, then turns to woody, earthy, and herbal hops(!), coffee, bittersweet chocolate, and a nice warming alcohol note that isn't harsh at all. Very nice combo that makes each sip a delight. Finish is long, slightly dry, a bit bittersweet, and nicely warming. There's the ABV...

M: Thinner than a stout (as it should be), but still very substantial. A little oily and coating. Carbonation is on the low side on the palate, but appropriate for the style.

O: I really, REALLY like this beer. I'd love to see what a good barrel (or some vanilla beans) would do to it. Might try to pick some up to stick in the cellar and see what some time does to that warmth. Maybe a little smoothing would make it perfect.... We'll see. Highly recommended. (1,135 characters)

A: jet black. Dense brown head with tiny bubbles. Lasts quite a long time. Two fingers.S: cherries, roast, chocolate. Some floral notes even.T: huge roast and assertive sweetness on the tip of the tongue. Huge matinees with slight hop bitterness. Fruity, roasty, chocolate in the middle. Bitterness, sweet, and some alcohol in the middle and back. Slight roast and more sweetness on the back need, but not cloying.M: full, like cream. Medium to medium low carbonation. A significant amount of sticky sweetness on the back end, loses some points for this. Moderate alcohol warming throughout. O: a huge, flavorful. Full bodied imperial porter. Well brewed, really nice. I've had a few imperial porters that were over-the-top, but this one is very nice. Highly recommended. (851 characters)

12oz bottle from the 4-pack into my Stone IRS snifter glassNotes taken 08/14/2014

A: Pours a semi-thick, dark espresso body that turns slighlty browner towards the edges. Pretty much pitch as it sits in the glass with a finger width of mocha tan suds holding over. Decent stay power as it slowly slips down to an oily swirl. Some light etches of stick run in broken rings around the perimeter.

S: Dark and smoky malts greet the nose with a sweet cherry tobacco like presence. Has a deep chocolate richness from all that dark grain and gives the impression of dark breads with plum, licorice, and some black strap molasses. Dark and roasty and aromatically intense.

T: Damn this drinks better than a fine imperial stout as it maintains such a super creamy feel. I get loads of dark chocoalte roast with a dark breadiness, plum, raisin, brown sugar, molasses, and undertones of freshly roasted coffee. There is lovely toasted marshmallow richness with a hit of that campfire char on it. Incredible flavors conjurred here and with such good balance. The beer has a lighter level of bitterness to it while the alcohol is so well hidden. Mix in some earthy spice with a dash of black licorice and hints of cinnamon spice in the finish. Deeply rich and roasty with some great complexity.

M: A much fuller body than most Porters but with a frothy cream like texture. Somewhat low to moderate carbonation keeps this on the chewier side but not by much. Has a lighter drying finish with some some gullet warming alcohol and a sleek sugary residual effect.

D: An Imperial Porter no doubt with some real intense roast flavors. This drinks better than most imperial stouts and delivers more depth of flavor than any other Porter I have had to date. The balance is done so well with a great ratio of the malt sweetness to lighter feel. Evil Twin sure can make some killer dark ales. (1,903 characters)

I am not sure why this one isn't rated higher. This was my first 'imperial porter' so I am not sure what that means as compared to a Imperial Stout but I will go with it...

A: Looks like an Imperial Stout, super dark with a nice dark brown head. This really was a great beer to break in my new KBS glassware.

S: Amazing and full of sweet chocolate with hints of plum. This must be why they are calling this an Imperial Porter.

T: Taste follows the nose, this beer is sweet but since I don't love sweet stouts, it wasn't too bad when compared. The taste didn't have the super dark taste to it that I would expect in an Imperial Stout, just a tad lighter.

M: Thick and viscous, nothing to complain about

O: This was such a good beer. For being 11.5%, I was floored at the lack of hotness it had. Only after it had warmed for a while did I get any kind of burn. I highly recommend trying this one, I hope I can score some more of this soon. (942 characters)

12 oz. bottle poured into a mug. Very dark brown grading into black, with a light dappling of mocha brown head. Aroma is decidedly roasted, black coffee and light smoke with some sweeter toffee and raisin overtones, even a hint of orchard fruit and tangy English hops. Palate is equal parts roast and sweet, dark chocolate and day old black coffee, brittle toffee, rum-soaked raisins, brown bread, a hint of caraway, and a rather pleasing floral alcohol warmth. Low carbonation and quite viscous, heavy ... Finishes bitter and a tad medicinal, vague hop echoes and that same astringent taste that lingers for a while after your morning coffee. Minimal ash. This is hearty fare indeed, well-crafted and smooth sailing despite the potent flavors involved. I get why this brew is used as the base for things like Imperial Biscotti Break and the like. I think it stands up very well in an unadulterated form. (906 characters)

Taste: Chocolate and malts are the most noticeable, with the taste of alcohol definitely noticeable. Can't tell what the fruit is but has a sweet fruit taste to it as well.

Feel: Creamy, velvety texture with light carbonation.

I really like this porter, has a nice kick to it that you feel from the beginning and only continues as you drink more, while not having an overpowering taste of alcohol you would expect in an 11.5% beer (659 characters)

In the front, there’s a earthy bitterness and roasted malt character and molasses. The beer hides in sheep’s clothing and pretends that it is smaller than it truly is. It transitions to an umami and dark soy sauce. The beer evolves in big espresso bean, roasted coffee, bittersweet chocolate, burnt caramel. There’s some alcohol throughout, but it complements the richness of the beer. On the back, there’s a bit more milk chocolate sweetness and ash and smoke.

The mouthfeel is medium plus to full.

This base beer of Imperial Biscotti is an absolutely stellar imperial stout/porter if you are okay with alcohol and prefer huge robust and rich flavors. (810 characters)